Grimoire of the Twilit
by EmberFalcon
Summary: Post TP Two years after the Twilight has been purged from Hyrule, strange shadowy creatures are spotted at the kingdom's border. Old friends and new lovers must join forces once more to fight this mysterious group, "The Rift"
1. A Deep Sadness

Ahh, it feels so good to be writing Zelda fics again

Ahh, it feels so good to be writing Zelda fics again! So, let's skip my mindless bantering and go straight to it, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to anything affiliated with The Legend of Zelda, nor do I make a profit from this story. The Legend of Zelda franchise has, is, and always will be owned by Nintendo.

--

"_Please…" _

_His voice called out softly, almost hesitantly, as she stepped toward him. There he stood, dressed in his forest green tunic, stained with blood, white leggings, old bronze gauntlets adorning his lower arms, and worn leather boots. She vaguely wondered where his hat went whilst resisting the urge to reach out and run her fingers through his dark blonde hair to comfort him. She called out to him, but her voice never came forth. At first, she had been puzzled; why can she not speak? She made her way over to him, attempting to place her hand on his back to inspect the blood, but her hand went straight through him, as if he were simply an apparition. She then understood why she could not communicate with him._

_A vision, she thought grimly. It's because this is a vision._

_"Say something…anything…" He called again, this time a bit louder, though a bit hoarser than before, as if speaking was a struggle. He stepped forward once, away from her. His boots gave soft sighs, the leather quieted from years of usage as he continued to search in the abyss. She stared at his back, unsure of what to make of this vision she was being shown; they were usually considerably clearer than what she was seeing now._

_With no warning, he dropped to his knees. "Please, goddesses above, don't take her from me…" he pleaded, his head bowed somberly. "Don't let her be harmed…I beg of you…" His fists clenched against his thighs to tightly his upper body began to tremble as he leaned on his balled up hands. The Triforce of Courage hummed vibrantly even through his glove, casting a soft glow on the hero's features. "You have me on my knees…please, keep her safe, don't let death claim her…"_

_She walked around his kneeling, broken frame to see the front of him, but the sight that greeted her made her cry out in anguish._

_The front of his tunic was smeared with blood more so than the back of it, the most of the crimson life-force collecting at his side. Shallow cuts adorned his sun-kissed face while another, more gruesome slash was found on his neck, though it was unclear just how deep it was. _

_She was shocked when he lifted his gaze to her face, his piercing ocean blue eyes gazing at her, not through her, as was the case with other visions, almost as if he knew she were there, watching him. Her gaze was torn from his intense stare as she saw a shadowed figure emerge behind him, a sword poised high above, ready to strike the kneeling man before it. Just as the blade was thrust toward his back, she faintly heard him choke out,_

_"Can you hear me…Zelda?"_

--

"No, Link-!" Zelda cried out softly as she bolted up from her bed. Sweat made her hair cling to her face and back, her nightgown and sheets gripping her lean body almost as if she were their last hope. Her breath came out in harsh, labored pants as she brought a clutched hand to her chest in a vain attempt to ease her thundering heart.

It had started about a month and a half ago.

She really couldn't explain it; this recurring vision she had every night. It was always the same, always revolving around _him_. Every time she had that dream, it would show her a little more, another detail, another meaning, and then she would awake, unable to decipher what these dreams were telling her.

It all started when she and Link began to get very, very close.

Granted, she and Link became good friends almost immediately following the Twilight Realm incident and Midna's farewell a little over two years ago. Strange as it sounded, it felt so…natural talking to him, and listening to him in return, almost as if they had known each other all their lives. As the months went by, they spent more and more time together, growing steadily more close with each passing day until separation became almost unbearable.

It was still hard to believe that it had only been three months ago that they had at long last confessed their growing affections toward each other. Granted, both of them were mature enough to realize that what they were feeling wasn't quite love just yet, or if it was, it was too soon to tell, so they simply contented themselves with admitting that they had feelings beyond friendship and were acting upon them. Nothing too over the top, mind you; simple hand holding, warm embraces, and the occasional chaste kiss were all that occurred between the hero and the princess. Though that suited them just fine; they were simply building a strong foundation for what they hoped would be a lasting relationship.

He had left shortly after that, what with having been officially knighted, he was rather busy. She had been rather surprised to discover that the royal council of Hyrule was quite fond of Link, and unanimously approved him as her potential suitor, what with being the Hero of Twilight and all. Though, no amount of shock could overpower her absolute elation she felt when the council accepted their being together.

That elation, however, turned to concern when, after only three and a half weeks after they became a couple, he was called to war- or at least, to try and prevent one, that is; lately, one of the smaller neighboring kingdoms was having a bit of difficulty with some renegade Twili that still blamed Hyrule for the incident with Ganondorf and Zant, and had asked for Hyrule's aid. Naturally, being a rather close ally of the mentioned kingdom, Zelda and the council to send troops to aid their smaller, considerably weaker army in resistance. The soldiers had yet to return, but the messengers had certainly done a well enough job to ensure the townsfolk (as well as their princess) that they were in good health and making steady progress in the fight.

Though, those letters did little to comfort Zelda now as she now crossed the room and sat on her window sill, her knees drawn to her chest as she felt the familiar sense of loneliness consume her as it had every night since Link's departure. The rain pelted softly on the roof, a comforting lullaby trying to ease the princess' worries, help her go back to sleep, and stave off the longing for her protector just one more night. Though, its melancholic tempo did nothing but remind her that she was alone, listening to the rain fall on her window pane.

The last time it rained, Link had been with her, wrapped in a soft blanket with his arms cocooning her as they pressed their cheeks together, reveling in their closeness. They had not exchanged unnecessary words, but simply listened to the rain, letting its sound patterns channel each other's secrets into their hearts.

Moments like that weren't very often, and when they occurred, most of them were things only they were privy to; they made a point to keep such tender displays of affection away from the public's eyes, not wanting to make their matriarch seem weak and used, which was simply not the case with Zelda, as anyone remotely close to her would attest. Though, she certainly didn't _feel_ so certain of herself at the moment. On the contrary, she had never once felt more timid and fragile than when she sat there, her tiny frame curled within the folds of her deep black Sheikah cloak, watching the rain wash down upon the land.

As the rain continued its somber mantra, Zelda could feel her eyelids begin to grow heavy with the want for sleep at last, her exhaustion finally overpowering her deep concern for the Hero of Twilight that had plagued her thoughts since he left. Resting her head on her knees, she continued to listen to the weather outside, though had not fallen asleep quite yet. In her limbo between awake and asleep, her thoughts drifted back to Link's departure, the day prior to it, and the promise that had been made…

"_Zelda, is everything alright?" She faintly heard Link ask from behind her. She turned toward him, sat down on the lush grass, and motioned for him to do the same. Taking a seat next to her, he drew one knee up to rest his arm on lazily as he continued to gaze at her quizzically._

_"Link…the kingdom has been asked to go to war," she hesitated. "It seems there's been a sort of uprising near the border of Latona Kingdom. Apparently, there are still some renegade Twili that blame Hyrule for the Twilight incident that didn't go back to the Twilit Realm, and are trying to reach Hyrule through the Latona border," she paused a moment before finishing._

_"Twili-!" Seeing his eyes flash with shock and the slightest hint of betrayal, she was quick to reassure him,_

_"These Twili went against Midna; she did everything she could to prevent this." The hero relaxed considerably knowing that his dear friend was not involved in this affair. However, it seemed as though there was something Zelda had not yet said, something important; the way her canine worried her bottom lip, the way she could not look him in the eye for very long, were both signs that she was keeping something back._

_"I gather that's not the entire story," he said simply, his eyes softening when she visibly flinched._

_She turned to him, her soft fingers reaching up to guide his face by the chin so that she could look him directly in the eye. "The council wishes that you would be the one to lead a group of soldiers there," she said gravely. He now understood why she had been so hesitant about telling him; now that they had become…something, now that they had gotten together, it made things a bit more difficult when he had to leave. Despite the fact that he was a knight, it was still a bit harder to take knowing what he was leaving was now his. Still, it could not be helped; Latona needed Hyrule's help, and he didn't dare to argue that._

_"Then…I will go," he said firmly, though the gentleness in her tone did not go unnoticed. Knowing she was upset, he stroked her cheek with the back of his calloused, albeit smooth hand. She leaned into his touch, her lashes fluttering a moment in bliss. _

"_But…" she said a moment later, unable to keep her concerns quiet. She gripped his hand and held it to her face as she spoke, "You must promise to return as soon as you've completed your duties," she finished in a shaky whisper. The hero smiled warmly and clasped her hand in his._

"_I promise," he swore, his intense gaze never faltering, his voice ringing with surety and valor. She knew then that she had absolutely nothing to worry about; he would go, but he would come back into her arms soon. _

"_When does the group leave?" He asked softly. _

"_Tomorrow at dawn, your company departs," she answered in the same manner, as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. She wrapped her slender fingers around his once more to stop him from pulling away. Nodding in agreement to his decision, she asked, "Will you stay with me until then?" Her voice had lowered to a whisper, though her hero picked up every word. His hand rested comfortably on her cheek, curling to hold it tenderly. He ran his thumb back and forth across her cheek in a soothing motion, hoping she would allow herself to relax despite the concern evident in her features._

"_Do you need to ask?" He answered her question with one of his own. She smiled softly as he stood and extended his hand toward her. She gratefully took it, rising beside him and following him to Epona. He mounted her with ease before gripping the princess' hand once more to pull her up behind him. As he led the steed into a gallop, Zelda wrapped her arms around her protector, and rested her head against his back. His warmth suffused through her body, its comfort easing her tense muscles as her eyes lightly fluttered shut, knowing she could only feel this warmth for a scant few hours more._

_By the time the couple had stolen away into Zelda's room in Castle Hyrule, the sun had begun to rest upon the horizon, and the soft glow of twilight swept across the land. Zelda took Link's hand and gingerly led him over to her window seat so they could watch the sun set in the distance one last time together before he had to leave. _

"_Do you ever feel a deep sadness as you watch the dusk fall?" Link asked her, his tone warm and smoky from misuse. She turned, not expecting something so philosophical to come from him. When he saw her surprised gaze, he chuckled a bit. "My mentor, a member of the Resistance, asked me that question before the whole event with the Twilight Realm." His eyes clouded over in nostalgia as he continued, "back then, I had no idea what he was talking about. Quite frankly, back then, a sunset was a sunset in my eyes." He smiled wryly at the memory of his own ignorance back then. "But," the bitterness in that smile dissolved into contentment. "The sunsets to me are a sort of greeting. You know, like Midna's checking in on us? Seeing how we're doing, making sure we're alright, know what I mean?" _

"_Yes," she breathed, moved by his words. "Before Hyrule was cast into Twilight, I would never really give the sunset a second thought. I appreciated its beauty, certainly, but to me, it never had a purpose. But now, when I see the sunset, I think of Midna and the other Twili, and I pray to the goddesses that they're all safe and happy." She smiled at the memory of Midna, whom she felt a deep connection to. Even now, she could sense Midna's presence as if she were right in the room with them. She felt Link's arm drape around her shoulders and ease her against him, allowing her to let his heartbeat soothe her frayed nerves._

"_How long?" Link suddenly broke the companionable silence that had befallen the two, startling Zelda a bit._

"_Huh?" she asked, unsure of what she meant. Noting her blatant confusion, he rephrased his question,_

"_How long will our troops be away at Latona?" her expression changed into a somber one, her cerulean eyes darkened in pain until they almost looked violet as she turned her head to gaze at the last hours of twilight before the night swallowed the sky._

"_To be honest, I'm…I'm not sure…" she started slowly. "They never specified how long they needed our troops to stay, so I suppose it'll be until the uprising has been quelled." She frowned worriedly as she studied his uncertain expression. "You are…afraid…?" She peered at him, as if to decipher the emotions locked in his distant gaze, her hand rising to guide his face to have her gaze met with his. He gave a small smile, what little comfort it offered either of them._

"_I'm not afraid of the battle," he stated matter-of-factly, though Zelda had already known that much, he could tell. "But," he started. "I am going to miss you when I'm away." His smile saddened considerably, and the spirited twinkle in his eye vanished in the deep sea of his concern._

"_And I will miss you just as much," she replied, as if to console him, assure him that he would at least not be alone in feeling as such. "But I know you will come back, and you know that I will be here waiting, praying for your safe return. In the end, that's what counts, Link." She smiled gently at him. Unable to voice his emotions, he settled for pulling her into his lap, holding her against him one last time before he left. Nothing more was needed to be said between the two as they sat there in the comfortable silence of the room. After several hours of simply enjoying the warmth of their embrace, he lifted his head from hers to gaze once more at the sky._

"_I must go now, Zelda," Link whispered, running his hand through her hair soothingly, though for her comfort or his, neither could be certain. She squeezed him tighter, not wanting to let go so soon. He looked back down at her when he felt her tremble in his arms. He knew she was suppressing tears, if only to make their farewell a bit easier, but he still needed to console her as much as he could. He rubbed small circles into her back, hoping she would calm down, even just a bit. She sniffled, but kept her tears at bay, a difficult task when all she wanted was for him to never leave. But, she knew that he needed to fulfill his duty to his country, and those it was allied to, so she didn't fight him when he slinked out of her arms slowly, regretfully as he stood. His fingertips brushed along her shoulders, rising up to hold her face as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I will return to you," he whispered fiercely in her ear. "I promise."_

_"I'll be waiting," she whispered hesitantly as he gave her one last smile before he walked out the door. She stood, looking out her window to watch him mount Epona once more and gallop off into the night._

"_I promise."_

--

Despite the ominous echoing of the raindrops, the faint whinny of horses managed to reach her ears. Her tired eyes popped open with energy she was unaware she had possessed, her head snapping up in time to look over to her window. Her heart in her throat, she managed a hoarse whisper of,

"Link?"

--

Okay, I know it's a bit cheesy, and Zelda's much more emotionally stable in Twilight Princess than this, but please forgive me- it's only my second Zelda fic! Please read and review! It's greatly appreciated!


	2. The Twilight Princess Returns

Okay here, moving right along with chappie 2! Hope you enjoy!

--

At first, she had a difficult time grasping the reality of the situation; it seemed much too soon for Link and the others to be returning, but the princess couldn't keep the hope from swelling in her bosom, and griping her dress tighter to it didn't aid in quelling the sensation. She shifted so that she sat with her knees tucked underneath her as she let her black Sheikah cloak fall from her shoulders, pooling on the window sill where she had previously sat. Patiently, she waited for a sign, a glimpse of anything that even vaguely resembled the Hylian Army over the horizon.

After a few moments, her prayers had been answered.

Although the rain blurred the image of the small group of men (no more than twenty of them) all on horseback, Zelda could still make out the small dot of green and brown amongst the otherwise bronze and silver line of armored soldiers. Though her face betrayed her emotions and remained relatively stoic, she breathed a sigh of relief as she counted them all- no casualties. She waited until the horses were guided into the castle's stable before she dared to move.

Rising from her seat at the sill, she left her cloak and walked over to her heavy oak door and forced it open against the rusted hinges' desires. Slipping out into the spiral staircase hallway, she was sure to shut the door as quietly as she could behind her before she turned and began to descend the stairs slowly. Do not misunderstand; she was more then eager to see Link after such a long time apart, but she was also a bit more reserved, more rational, than any other woman, much in part to her upbringing as a royal.

Just as she was ten steps from the bottom, the door leading into the staircase was hastily opened, and in stepped none other than the Hero of Twilight, his green tunic, as well as the figure it covered, were almost completely hidden under the thick brown cloak he donned when he went out and about. His gentle blue eyes found hers amidst the dimply lit corridor and for the first time in a month and a half, her heart melted.

A look of pure and utter serenity swept over Link as his entire body seemed to go lax at the sight of his beloved princess. He rushed up the last ten steps, taking them two at a time until he at last reached her and pulled her to him. Her head nuzzled into his cloaked chest automatically, as she found returning his embrace was fast becoming second nature to her, not that she minded at all.

"Zelda," he breathed shakily into her hair as he ran a hand through it. "I came back to you," he whispered, as if he were terrified this was a dream he might wake from if he spoke too loudly. "Just as I promised," She loosened her hold on him enough to look up into those deep blue eyes she had so terribly longed to drown in.

"I waited, as I promised as well," she responded in like, reaching up to stroke his cheek softly. He allowed his eyes to flutter shut as he leaned into her touch gratefully, almost desperately, turning his head enough to press a kiss into her palm. Sliding her hand to the back of his neck, she held him once more. He wrapped his arms around her in return, rubbing his hand up and down her back soothingly. She frowned a bit when she felt the back of his cloak. "Link, this is soaked, you'll fall ill in this," She gently chastised, peeling the material off of his tunic. She felt his tunic for water, ignoring Link's squirming and faint protests. Thankfully, the only noticeably wet parts of the fabric were the shoulders and back. Shaking her head at his antics, she reached for his hand. "Come," she said, leading him back up the staircase.

Once the couple was tucked away in Zelda's room, the princess set to work tending to him. Setting his drenched cloak down to dry on a chair in the corner, she walked back to the sill she had sat on and picked up the previously forgotten Sheikah cloak. "Here," she said softly, wrapping it around his shoulders. "Much better," she concluded once she had closed it neatly around him, clearly satisfied with her work. She lifted her head to gaze at him, a soft smile playing on her lips. The hero reciprocated the gesture as he reached for both of her hands. He held them as he stepped forward enough to press their foreheads comfortably against one another.

"I missed you, Zelda…terribly so…" he breathed, nuzzling her nose with his. Her smile warmed considerably as she replied,

"I missed you, too," she whispered, stopping as he dipped to catch her lips in a chaste kiss. As soon as she got her lips back, she requested that he report his travels. At the mention of the last month and a half's events, his eyes seemed clouded over in troublesome thoughts, as if concern plagued him still. Her brows drew together in the slightest of frowns. "Link…?" She questioned, touching his arm to gain his attention. He turned his head to her, opening his mouth to say something, but shut it again as he averted her gaze with a thoughtful furrow of his brow.

"We fought quite a few Twili…" he started slowly, as if it were difficult to express his thoughts. She waited patiently for him to continue. "Up until last week, things were progressing, but then…" he trailed off with an irritated sigh as he shut his eyes and turned away to massage his temples. After a few moments of collecting his thoughts, he continued, "Then, they just…disappeared! The simply warped back to the Twilit Realm as if nothing happened!" He growled. "I just…" his voice softened as he let his hands drop to his sided in defeat. "I don't even know how they managed to return to Hyrule. I fear…this isn't the last we've seen of them." Zelda's teeth worried her bottom lip, her thoughts drifting back to the vision she had been having the last month and a half.

"I fear," she started slowly, her gaze distant as she looked out the window. "That you're right," he turned to her, clearly surprised at her statement. Without even looking over at him, she explained, "I've been having a reoccurring vision that until your return I could not quite decipher. Though, now I believe that it was trying to forewarn me of this impending threat on Hyrule." The grave tone in her voice did not go unnoticed, nor did the weight of her words; Hyrule was still recovering from its recent remission, and another incident with the Twilit denizens would undoubtedly do little more than cripple it further.

"All we can do at this point," Link started, though his voice drifted as he noticed Zelda's attention was no longer on their conversation, as her suddenly alarm gaze was set out the window, her lips parted as if she were preparing to speak. He followed her gaze and looked out the window down into the courtyard where, much to his surprise, eight hooded, black cloaked figures lurking just outside the castle's main entryway, their faceless hoods seemingly fixated upon Zelda's window, seemingly unfazed by the pouring rain that drenched them. An unexpected chill ran down the hero's spine, not unlike the sensation he felt whenever he was near the presence of a Twilit monster, and he was quite certain that he was not the only one feeling those sensations.

"What in Nayru…?" Zelda uttered under her breath, her sharp eyes never leaving the figures below. Link turned toward her, gently clasping the shoulder plates of her dress.

"Stay here," he ordered. "I'll look into it." Though her face remained unfazed, her eyes flashed in concern.

"Link, you can't honestly-" Zelda began, only to be cut off by Link shaking his head.

"Stay here," he said in a more forceful tone before he spun on his heel and bolted out of Zelda's room. The princess watched him go, praying to the goddesses that the sinking feeling in her chest meant nothing.

The chills running down Link's spine only grew colder with every step he took toward the castle doors until he had to suppress a shudder when he thrust the great doors open and hurried out into the courtyard. The eight figures stood patiently, as if beckoning him to come forth. The hero slowed his pace to a walk as he stepped cautiously toward the small group of strangers, his hands gripping his sword and shield under Zelda's cloak.

"We have been waiting for you, Hero chosen by the Gods," one of them commented once Link's feet had touched the grass, though which one spoke, he couldn't quite tell; their voices echoed hollowly, as if there was a sort of filter in their voices, not unlike Midna's voice had two years ago. The chills increased tenfold.

"Who are you? State your purpose for being here," Link said evenly, the hand on his sword's hilt tightening its hold. A soft roar of hollow chuckles arose from the shadowed beings, their hooded heads bobbing up and down with laughter.

"We wish to merge the two worlds," one of them said.

"We demand unity of the mirror worlds," another agreed. Though at first puzzled by what they meant, Link began to understand.

"The Twilit Realm?"

"Precisely, Hero; that is our purpose," at this, Link barked a bitter laugh as he drew his Ordon blade and lifted his Hylian shield from his back.

"I take it you didn't learn from Zant's mistakes," he retorted. It didn't take much thought to realize the incident with the Twili and the appearance of these people were not isolated events, though not for the first time he wondered how the Twili passed through to Hyrule. He expected his comment would throw off these hooded beings, but they merely scoffed.

"Zant was a washout with the selfish desire to rule as Twilight King. He could not comprehend the magic he had 'created,' or the potential of its power when put into the right hands." Link's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean…?"

"Rather than concern yourself with our words, Hero," the tone in their voice was suddenly ominous, the mockery in their words lost in their omnipotence. "You should be worrying about your princess," Link showed his surprise before it turned into pure rage, and he found himself holding back a snarl that would have rivaled that of his previous beast form.

"What are you-?!" His question was cut short by the sound of shattering glass. He whirled around in time to see Zelda's window shatter, the glass shards flying into the grass and cobblestone below. His eyes widened in panic. He turned his head back toward the group of cloaked men, though he could see in the distance the faint glow of Twilight, he knew that the sun had set only hours ago…no, this was the Twilight Realm sweeping over the land once more.

The Twilight was upon him quicker than he anticipated when he had started bolting for the castle. Link bit back a cry of surprise as the sheer force of the Twilight knocked him down on his chest and stomach, the impact causing him to let go of his sword and shield as they lie idly a few inches in front of him. The hood of the Sheikah cloak flipped over his head from the impact, though he did nothing to remove it.

He faintly saw a white glow encompass his back, and instinctively took it as he was transforming into his wolf form. He snapped his eyes shut and waited…though nothing happened. Clearly confused, he eased his eyes open against the foreign white glow, surprised to see it emanating from Zelda's cloak, though he knew there was no time to dwell on such things; the said princess needed him. Snatching up his dropped weaponry, he scrambled to his feet and sped off back toward the castle. Suddenly those beings didn't matter, the Twilight Realm swallowing Hyrule in its fiery glow was not his top priority; all that ran through Link's head was the thought that Zelda was in danger.

"To answer your question," as their voices surrounded Link, the echo so loud it was as if they followed him as he tried desperately to will his legs to move faster, get him that much closer to the castle doors. "Who are we, Hero?" They laughed in unison, their voices ringing in his pointed ears. "We are…The Rift."

The doors to the castle were nearly flung off their hinges from the force Link put into shoving them open. Not bothering to contemplate the damage dealt, he sprinted toward the corridor leading to Zelda's bedroom, throwing the smaller door open and racing up the spiral staircase at such a dizzying speed that his head began to spin faster than his feet were carrying him up the winding hall. Reaching the door leading to the princess' room, he poised his sword and shoved the door open with his shield.

The sight that greeted him would be forever etched in his nightmares.

A Twilit Messenger stood in all its gothic glory, its rippled arm poised high in the air, in its hand, Zelda's neck was firmly grasped as she struggled to break free from its long, leathery fingers as she dangled above the floor. The Messenger had not taken any notice to the hero rushing toward it, only watching as veins of darkness began to slither down the inside of the princess' throat, disappearing down the line of her clothing only to reemerge flowing down her left arm, looming ever closer to the Triforce of Wisdom. The said relic of the gods pulsated violently, its light attempting in vain to ward off the impending dark entity that had entered its host, effectively forcing her body to go limp in its hand after one last horrible lurch. The beast watched with an air of demented mirth as the princess' once thrashing legs hung over the floor, her head lolled to the side, and her once struggling arms to fall at her sides. The Twilit Messenger finally turned its head in time to see the tip of Link's sword before it impaled its metal head covering, splitting both it, and the Messenger's skull.

Not bothering to watch it wither away, Link caught Zelda carefully with an arm around her back, the other hand prying the disappearing Twilit's fingers away from her abused neck. He gently lowered her to the ground, the Sheikah cloak she had placed upon his shoulders draping over the two in a protective cocoon. It was then that he had looked at the damage dealt to her, and he bit back a gasp of shock at the sight that greeted him. Where the beast had choked her clear down to the exposed skin on her upper chest, one mass of darkness resembling an ink blotch covered her entire neck and most of her upper chest. His eyes followed the trail of inky blackness down to her left hand, where her golden Triforce of Wisdom was surrounded with veins of darkness, though the black impurity had yet to touch the heavenly relic.

The hero bit back a cry of surprise as he felt his own Triforce of Courage begin to pulse, its glow apparent even through his gauntlet. Unsure of how to help the spreading darkness, his left hand reached over to grasp her left hand, their Triforce markings now back to back as he laced his fingers with hers. It was then that Zelda began to stir.

"Link," she opened her eyes a slither of the way, their unfocused gaze set on his eyes. "Find…Midna…" she wheezed, her breathing fast becoming strangled. She cringed in pain as the corruption in her body compromised her otherwise pure magic, the inner struggle powerful enough to force even her to writhe in pain.

"How…she left two years ago…?" He shook his head, not one moment of this completely registering in his mind. How was he not a wolf? How had the Twilit come back? What was happening to Zelda? Didn't Midna return to the Twilit Realm, never to return? How was he supposed to find her?

"...Basement…corridor…" she wheezed, her eyes screwing shut in agony. Though he did not entirely understand how Midna (or any of the other Twili for that matter) came to Hyrule, he nodded and gently lifted her torso a bit so he could reach his other hand under her knees in preparation to lift her. She opened her cerulean eyes once more and gazed apologetically at her hero. "Link…I'm so sorry-" she began, but he was quick to intercept her apology; really, it wasn't necessary.

"Shh…" he soothed, his thumb rubbing her arm reassuringly as he stood with her to support her as she got on her feet. "Don't talk; you're in enough pain as it is." His face took on a bit of a surprised expression as he lifted her; he knew she was thin, but even with all the thick metal armor pieces and layers of underskirts she wore, she still felt so…light, as if she hadn't been eating much. But he mentally shook it off for now; he had to find Midna. Zelda depended on it.

"The one connected to Telma's bar?" he asked, receiving a small shake of the head from the princess in his arms.

"The one…leading into Hyrule Field…from the soldiers' quarters," she rasped. With a nod of understanding, he started to walk toward the door, though was surprised to feel Zelda shift in protest.

"I-I can stand," she stammered, struggling against his grip in vain. He shook his head firmly and tugged her back against him.

"You're in no condition to move or talk right now; you're only putting yourself through more than necessary," his hardened expression softened when he saw her eyes cloud over in guilt- he knew she didn't like people doting on her, despite her stature. "I know you don't want people to help you with these sorts of things, but I won't simply stand here and watch you suffer," he said as he nudged the door open with his side.

Walking through the twilit-covered castle left Link with a slight sense of déjà vu, minus the fact that this time around he was walking on two legs rather than four (which he still couldn't explain for the life of him) though he was still carrying a princess with him as he went. He watched as the flecks of Twilight rose from the ground and ascended into the air, only to dissipate into nothingness around him. Knowing the way to the soldiers' quarters (he did live there, after all) he easily navigated the labyrinth that was Castle Hyrule. With every step he took, he felt Zelda shudder another breath in…and out…in…and out…the shallowness of her breathing pushed his legs faster and faster until he was nearly in a sprint by the time he reached the quarters he usually slept in.

He was aware of the corridor Zelda had referred to earlier; occasionally, the soldiers were sent through it as a short-cut to Hyrule Field to intercept an incoming threat, or it was also used as an escape route if there was a fire or whatnot. He kicked the door unceremoniously open and barged through, cringing at the tiny floating fluorescent green orbs cluttered here and there within the space, undoubtedly his men murmuring to themselves about the current situation. Walking over to the right corner in the back, he knelt to set his princess down to draw back the rug covering the trap door to the basement chambers of the castle.

As Link descended down the steps, he was startled when Zelda spoke again; he had believed she'd lost consciousness earlier. "Link…Midna's…" knowing how difficult it was for her to speak, he waited patiently as he came to the bottom of the stairs and continued down the musty, damp, darkened hallway, his boots kicking up several inches of dust that had collected on the forgotten stone floor, the area obviously neglected for quite some time. "Midna's waiting…at the place…you killed Ganondorf…"

"Alright Zelda, just rest now; we're almost there," he reassured her once more as he bounced her a bit to keep his grip on her. It was indeed true; he could already see the other end of the tunnel coming into view as he spoke. "See? Here we are," he shouldered the trap door open and ascended the slope up into the field. To be honest, it had been so long since the soldiers had needed to use the underground tunnel, he had forgotten where in Hyrule Field it opened up to, so for a moment he had to center himself and figure out his position. After a few seconds, he remembered that the final battle with Ganondorf was just past the top of the hill a few meters before him, so without another thought as he continued, his pace picked up once more.

True to Zelda's word, as soon as Link crested the hill, he saw Midna's tall, slender figure waiting at the bottom. At the sight of her, Link's mind mentally relaxed; now Zelda could get help, and he would understand what exactly in Farore was going on here, "Midna!" he called as he neared her. The Twilight Princess turned at the sound of his voice, her face lit up in alarm at the sight of Zelda cradled in Link's arms; she knew that if Zelda was allowing Link to physically carry her without protest, something was very, very wrong. And as Midna closed the distance between them, she found her suspicions were correct. Link only watched as Midna brushed the edge of the Sheikah cloak away to look at the darkness within Zelda's body, her expression grim as she assessed the situation. Link looked up, hoping that Midna would make some smart remark about them needing her, their clumsiness, and find a way to make Zelda better. His hopes were dashed when Midna shook her head in dismay. Finally, she spoke,

"I should have known they would do this."


	3. The Journey Begins

Ah, here we go with chapter three! Oh, as a side note, I've been getting a lot of questions about Zelda's previously mentioned Sheikah cloak- yes, in Twilight Princess, the black cloak she wears has the symbol of the Sheikah on the back of it, along with some inscriptions of what I believe to be Hylian, though I'm not quite sure about that part…anyway, here's the chapter for your enjoyment!

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"What's wrong with Zelda?" Link asked hopelessly as he clung to the princess in his arms. Before he could stop himself, the questions that had been spinning in his head spewed forth from his mouth like vomit, "How did the Twilight return to Hyrule? How am I still in human form with the Twilight covering the land? What in the world is going on here, Midna?!?" He pleaded, his desperation growing more intense with every shallow breath that trembled Zelda's small frame. Midna finally turned her gaze from Zelda to look at him with an expression of mild irritation and the slightest hint of sarcasm.

"Before you berate me with questions," Midna snapped, her patience running particularly thin in light of Zelda's situation. "We need to get Zelda to the Sages; they'll know how to handle this much better than I." She removed her blue-gray hand from the hem of the Sheikah cloak to place her hand on Zelda's forehead. Link watched as Midna closed her eyes, as if in deep concentration.

He physically tensed, knowing what was to come. Sure enough, the inky-black Twilight blanketed the trio before breaking them down for warping. Piece by piece, they floated into the sky, the sensation dizzying, and yet cooling all at once as Link felt his stomach rise into his throat. After a few moments of the out-of-body experience he could not describe even to himself, he felt the twilight drain from them, and once again, they were in one whole piece, facing the Mirror Chamber of the Arbiter's Grounds, buried deep in the Twilight-cloaked Gerudo Desert. Strange, he had never seen the desert enshrouded in the perpetual Twilight before, but he had to admit that Midna was right about one thing two years ago; the Twilight had a sort of surreal beauty here, even in its darkest hour. He couldn't help but notice, however, that the Twilight did not touch the Mirror Chamber of the Arbiter's Grounds; rather strange, given that the area surrounding it was drowned in the crepuscular glow. Then again, if the Sages had anything to do with it, they most likely kept a barrier around the vicinity to protect themselves from exposure to the darkness.

Midna waved him over to the empty mantle where the stand for the Mirror of Twilight had once sat. "Lie her here, but I don't suggest you let her go just yet," she said gently as she went over to the six towers of the Sages to summon the remaining five of them. Link took great care to set Zelda down on the slab of marble indicated. He let his left arm let go of her legs, though only to wrap its hand around her left one, their Triforce markings back-to-back once more. And again, they thrummed in unison, their power pulsating, though his much surer, stronger than hers. His right arm remained around her shoulders to keep her upright and against his chest. He wasn't sure why, but he felt as though if Zelda lost contact with him physically, she would be lost to him, the sensation only giving him more of a reason to tighten his grip on her. Her head lolled to his shoulder, her body clearly too weak to keep her usually regal posture in tact. On instinct, his thumb ran back and forth on her arm idly, though for her comfort or his, he wasn't quite certain at this point.

His focus shifted from the princess in his arms to the five floating orbs that were gently drifting down from their pedestals toward the couple. In a flash, the remaining five Sages stood before Link, wrapped in their ethereal and omnipotent glowing auras. With nary more than a nod toward the hero, they made their way over to inspect Zelda.

"How did this happen?" The Forest Sage asked. Link cleared his throat.

"A Twilit Messenger got hold of her…" his voice died off as he returned his gaze to Zelda. The Sages, capable of piecing the rest together, nodded in unison once more.

"Yes, her body has been corrupt by an alarmingly large amount of Twilight…" The Light Sage pondered. "Had she not been host to the power of the Gods as well, she would have surely perished," he concluded, and Link swallowed hard at the thought, suppressing both a shudder and the fear that had long nagged in the deepest corner of his brain. His mind clinging to the most positive thoughts he could muster in this situation, he looked to the Sages hopefully, silently begging them to find an answer. After a few moments of tense silence, the Shadow Sage spoke,

"We can save her," he started slowly. The breath Link had been holding came out in a puff of relief and gratitude. Zelda would be alright, that's what counted. "However, we require your help, Hero."

His attention was immediately captured.

The Fire Sage was the next to speak, his hand reaching to hover over Zelda's and Link's joined hands. At the presence of his aura, the two Triforce markings gave a brief, sharp flash, as if in greeting before continuing their rhythmic, pulsating glow. "Your Triforce of Courage and her Triforce of Wisdom are all that are sustaining her now," Link's eyes widened in horror at the thought, but the Sage continued, "If you transfer a bit of your light into her, we can fuse our power with it to ward off the Twilight that has infested her body." Link nodded.

"How can I give it to her?"

"Concentrate, Chosen Hero, concentrate," the Fire Sage ordered in a soft but firm voice. "Close your eyes, find her dwindling light, and stoke it with your own inner fire. Let it rekindle her flame, let it restore her life," he rasped passionately, arduously. Link did as he was told, and closed his eyes with a concentrated frown, though he couldn't help but feel a tad ridiculous; there was nothing he could sense that-

…_Ba-bump…_

Startled, he pressed further. There, far ahead of him, far past his reach, there was a faint speckle in the distance…

…_Ba-bump…_

He began to move toward it, feeling its faint pulse thrum from its spot. This aura, this sensation…odd as it sounded, it felt an awful lot like…like Zelda…

…_Ba-bump…_

At last he could reach out and touch the small flicker of pure white light. It was so small, only the size of a candle flame…there was no conceivable way for Zelda to have such a small light…she was far to strong and kind for such a timid flame. He cupped the bead of fire and drew it to himself. It was not scorching hot, but a warm, soothing heat that filled his chest when he pressed the light to it; the familiar aura of Princess Zelda wrapping around him from this tiny sparkle in the darkness. He closed his eyes once more, his own fire spreading throughout his body in a regal, almost celestial glow as it flowed from him and into her. The tiny flame he was holding took on a considerably larger size, though he could still hold it to himself and feel as though it was still far too small for her…

He was suddenly jerked out of that dreamlike state, and the glowing had suddenly stopped. He looked toward the Sages in confusion, not knowing why they had pulled him out of her aura so quickly when it was so apparent that she still needed light. Granted, he felt drained, as though every reservoir of strength he stored had been spent, leaving him nearly inanimate and weary. The Forest Sage spoke,

"You must not get carried away, Hero; leave the rest to us," Link nodded hesitantly, reluctantly acknowledging that they were far better off doing this than he. The remaining Sages circled the couple, their soft white glow creating a halo around them that seemed to channel from Link to Zelda in terms of electricity; the more Link felt the energy return to him, the more he noticed Zelda begin to grow restless, squirming against his hold. Her fidgets turned into violent spasms, her soft moans growing into cries of pain. Link could only hold her tighter to keep her from hurting herself further, unsure of what to do to make her stop convulsing, or at least minimize the harmful effects of the seizures she was going through. But it seemed as though his efforts were for naught; no matter how close he pressed her to him, her tremors would not cease.

Then, as if someone clicked a switch, she froze, her body fell limp, and all outcries turned into faint, hollow pants. Alarmed, Link tilted Zelda's head back enough to look her over, and drew a breath of relief when her eyes began to flutter open. Slowly, as if she were waking from a deep sleep, her cerulean eyes came forth from behind her dark lashes, her thin brows creasing in confusion when she was greeted with the sight of Link smoothing her hair back and smiling down gently at her. Her eyes flickered behind him, catching the relieved stares of Midna and the Sages. Finding it difficult to speak with her throat dry as cotton, she had to swallow a few times before attempting speech.

"Link…" she wheezed, giving him an apologetic look. He stared down at her with a quiet, inquisitive stare, waiting for her to continue. "Thank you, and I'm sorry that I-"

"Haven't we been through this, Zelda?" He chastised softly whilst shaking his head. "You had no control over this, so don't apologize for what you aren't responsible for," his words fell on deaf ears as she shook her head in disapproval.

"I couldn't fight off the impending Twilight, and now I harbor that darkness within my body. And my people…" her gaze lowered in shame. "My people are suffering once more because of my inability to protect them," Link frowned concernedly but was silenced from reassuring her when Midna spoke up,

"This isn't the time for you to go on a self-loathing trip, Zelda," she quipped. Hearing the harshness in her own voice, her expression softened, knowing that she wouldn't have thought much better of herself had she been in Zelda's shoes. "You two," she nodded to her good friends, "need to listen to what the Sages and I have to say; it concerns those Twili you encountered before the two worlds merged again." Midna's words brought Link's question back to the forefront of his mind that had been previously forgotten in the fray of recent events.

"Sages, please answer me- how am I not a wolf again? How did the Twilight come back to Hyrule, and how did you wind up here, Midna-"

"Gee, aren't these questions sounding familiar," the Twilight Princess teased with a roll of her eyes. Hearing her speak with such a light air about her put to rest Zelda and Link's concerns; the immediate danger was no more. "Sages, care to do the honors? I'll fill in the blanks as we go," the elder mystics nodded in unison.

"First and foremost, Midna, it would be nice to know how you returned," though clearly surprised that the Sages had not figured it out for themselves (they _were_ supposed to be "sages," after all,) she replied,

"I may have destroyed the Mirror of Twilight, but my world will always be connected to yours," she nodded to the group of Hylians. "Your sunsets and sunrises are the doors between the worlds- the mirrors only showed us their reflections," though her words were cryptic, it was simple enough to assume that she came at some point when the sun had either set or rise.

"Now that I think of it…" Link pondered aloud. "When my army and I were sent to hold off the Twili, it did seem like they only attacked in the early morning, or late evening…" having it dawn on him that Twili and Hylian alike can pass through both worlds during the sunset and sunrise hours, he chose to say nothing more.

"Now, as to why you didn't get turned into a wolf the moment the Twilight took over Hyrule like the last time…I don't know," Midna answered honestly, looking over at the Sages for an explanation, though it was fairly clear that they were as stumped as she was.

"That would be my doing," all eyes focused on Zelda in bewilderment; certainly, she had proven her magical prowess on a number of occasions, but to completely defy the powers of Twilight? How was that even conceivable? "My cloak," she said simply, taking a bit of the fabric from Link's shoulder to finger its pale silver-white hem. "The symbol of the Sheikah is embroidered on the back of it," she started. "The Sheikah were people of shadow- they could move freely between the two worlds without fear of losing their original form. These inscriptions," she nodded to the lines of illegible symbols vaguely resembling Hylian text. "Are in the Sheikah people's native alphabet; it is a charm of protection," Zelda's eyes clouded over in thought. "Impaz taught my mother everything in the way of the Sheikah tribe, and mother passed those skills onto me when she was still of this world," seeing the sadness in her eyes, Link gave her a reassuring squeeze around the shoulders.

"Thank you," the hero said, flashing her a smile far too genuine for her not to reciprocate, if only a little. "But that still leaves those Twili that called themselves 'The Rift,' though," he added, though more toward the Sages and Midna than to Zelda.

The way Midna's entire body tensed did not go unnoticed by Zelda.

"You know of them, Midna?" She pressed, receiving a slow nod from her Twili friend.

"At one point, they were my father's royal court," she started. "Back then, they had no self-given name, only the title 'Twilit Council,' and acted as advisors to my father when he was in rule." After a brief pause, Midna's gaze drifted into eternity, as if she were no longer aware of where she was. "Everyone trusted them, never gave their ideas a second thought; it was as if they were the ones that had complete control of the Twilight Realm rather than my father.

"But after a few years, things began to change; they were scarcely seen in public, they held secret meetings- and their words became weighted with greed and malice. Finally it got to the point that no one could see a glimmer of the Twili they once were."

"Wasn't Zant your advisor, though?" Link broke in. Midna nodded, then explained with a bitter laugh,

"Yes, he was part of the original council; he was the only one who didn't seem 'corrupt,' so father never got rid of him. Though, look at how that turned out," she snorted, though shook her head and continued, "As for the rest of the council, father's concern for their actions finally drove him to investigate the matter himself. He caught eight of the nine members practicing a magic previously unknown to the Twilight Realm. Even on his deathbed, he never talked about what met his eyes that day, though it was clearly enough to disband all the members but Zant, for he was the only one that was not caught in the act by my father.

"After they were stripped of their title as the 'Twilit Council,' no one heard from a single ex-member again. It was assumed that they simply faded into obscurity…until recently…" she shuddered, rubbing her arms as if to stave off a nonexistent chill. "Twili have been found slaughtered in ways that our tribe's magic could never allow: Twili completely disfigured beyond recognition, some of them even left as little more than a stain on the ground, the list just goes on and on…" her voice trailed off. "At first, we had no idea who or what did this; the way things were, there was really no way of knowing. But then, they targeted me," she breathed. "I saw their faces, and then I _knew_, without a doubt, it was the old Council." She concluded, her fiery red eyes dulled over in a smoky haze of thought.

"I'm sorry," Zelda said, offering her good friend a reassuring smile. "But we will do everything we can to help," Link nodded in agreement, glad to help their dear friend. The Twilight Princess gave her a grateful smile, though the concern for her friend underlying beneath that appreciation was not missed by Link.

"As noble of you as that is, Zelda," the Forest Sage started, "it would not be advantageous of you to go on an adventure not knowing what lies ahead, or what dangers still lurk very much near you," the three friends all felt their spines grow rigid with the implications as they sat with baited breath for what the Sages were about to say.

"Granted, we staved off the Twilight in your body," the Light Sage spoke. "But it has not been purged-"

"Hold on a minute-!" Link sprang up to his feet in protest. "You said you could help her! You told me you could get rid of it!" The Shadow Sage nodded slowly.

"We did, Hero, and we thought we could, but this magic is different than the others; clearly laced with the spells of 'The Rift' and their accursed Grimoire," seeing the blank looks on Link's and Zelda's faces, Midna explained hastily,

"It's the spell book my father caught the Council using all those years ago, it's known as 'The Grimoire of the Twilit,' though I honestly don't know much else about it," once the Hyrulian hero and princess nodded once more, the Shadow Sage continued,

"Their magic is much stronger than we anticipated; at present, it remains to be seen as to how we can exorcise the darkness within you," Zelda nodded slowly. The Light Sage stepped forth to add to the explanation,

"But be forewarned-" they waited anxiously. "That Twilight within you has completely compromised your light magic and the power of your Triforce of Wisdom; should you shoot one single Light Arrow, the darkness that has spread through your body will overpower your Triforce, and you will be lost to this world."

Link found that he couldn't swallow the lump that had lodged in his throat.

"I understand," she replied in a grave tone, swerving her legs over to stand. "And I am ready to fight…as a Sheikah," with a wave of her hand, her elegant royal clothing rippled away to reveal a simple black ninja tunic with a thick gray belt knotted around her waist, gray leggings, and black boots. Her Hyrulian crown was replaced by a simple black cloth tied in back to keep her hair out of her way, and Link couldn't help but gawk at the transformation (it was, after all, quite revealing in terms of her hourglass figure…)

"You intend to come with this time?" Midna asked, somewhat surprised that Zelda would be so willing to take to the battlefield.

"Yes; I may not be a true Sheikah, or the Sheikah my mother was for that matter," she balled her fists in determination. "But I will not simply stand by and watch from the sidelines like before; I will fight and defend my friends, my people, and my country." Impassioned by her speech, not even Link dared to argue with her. Midna spoke,

"Zant was kind enough to leave this behind," pulling out a little black and yellow trinket very similar to the one that had been thrust into Link's head two years prior, she explained, "this is what turned me into an imp, though I honestly didn't know it at the time," she crinkled her nose. "Would have made things a lot easier back then, ne?" Gripping it into her hand, she was swallowed in a flash of black for a moment before her form turned into that of the imp she had first introduced herself as to Link and Zelda. "This'll make travel much more convenient, though, can I stay in your shadow this time, Zelda? I'd rather not stare up Link's tunic again," she shuddered comically, earning a snigger from Zelda, though the glowing red flush that had suddenly painted Link's face only made the situation funnier to the two female counterparts.

"Where should we start looking?" Link asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"You must first retrieve the Master Sword from the Sacred Grove and call upon its power once more, Link." The Light Sage replied. "Once that task is complete, it is imperative that you check the four spirits of Hyrule- I fear their safety may have been jeopardized in this fray." The three nodded to the Sages and bid them farewell as they faded into the scenery, clearly returning to their pedestals to pray for their good fortune in their quest as the hero, the princess, and the Twili hiding in her shadow set forth to their destination.

And that is where our story truly begins.


	4. The Master Sword's Return

Gah, my apologies for the long wait…I wasn't exactly satisfied with the way that this chapter was turning out, so I changed it…probably seven or eight times before I finally liked this one, so I genuinely hope you enjoy this chapter.

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"I'll warp us to Faron Woods; it's the only way back out of the desert, anyhow." Midna reasoned, separating from Zelda's shadow after they had left the Arbiter's Grounds. Both she and Link nodded and tensed in anticipation. The imp, however, thought it best to mention, "Though, I haven't warped more than one thing at the same time since we fought Ganondorf…I'm a bit rusty in that department…" Link gulped audibly.

"You…_can_ do it…right…?" Link asked as indifferently as he could when he held the enough apprehension for both the princess-gone-Sheikah and himself, though it seemed quite peculiar that Zelda seemed so…relaxed, considering what their dear friend just forewarned them of. Midna nodded.

"I should be able to, but…" she trailed, rubbing her chin as she reflected pensively.

"…But…?" Link pressed after a few moments of pause.

"…If something goes wrong, someone's gonna end up somewhere they shouldn't…maybe with something attached that's not supposed to be…"

"WHAT?!?" The hero burst in protest.

"…But those are just the minor details! Here we go!" She smiled a bit too cheerfully for his liking and waved her hand.

"Hang on a-!" Before Link could continue, he and Zelda were once more dissolved into Twilight and whisked off into the distance. "-minute, how can you just…eh…?" He cut off his tirade once he realized they had already been transported to their destination, his gaze sweeping his new surroundings, no longer the empty horizon and endless sand, but a deep, forgotten ruins of a once glorious temple, overrun with the nature surrounding the area, both of them unharmed and in no way deformed. Midna appeared a few short seconds later, clearly trying to hold in her laughter.

"You…you should have seen your face, Link!" She finally burst into an almost uncontrollable fit of giggles, clutching her belly to try and ease the pain growing from the laughter. Link sputtered indignantly.

"How do you expect me to react when given that sort of warning- HAPPY?!?" He defended. Surprisingly, Zelda stuck up for Midna's defense once she'd recovered from her own laughter, clearly getting just as much enjoyment out of seeing the normally composed hero nearly have a coronary.

"No, actually, you should have been able to tell that she was kidding…it was a bit apparent," she replied flatly, earning an eager nod of agreement from Midna.

"And how was it apparent?!?" Link spun and interrogated his girlfriend. She sighed in an almost exasperating way and shook her head. She adored him to death, but sometimes, he was so frighteningly thickheaded!

"Link. Midna wouldn't kill us off or put us in immediate danger intentionally _this_ early on in our quest, no matter how irritated with us she got."

"But-!" Clearly, he was riled up and ready for a debate, but she was going to have none of it.

"Don't argue with the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, dear; trust me, you won't win." His arguments reduced to quiet grumbling, Zelda walked with a bit more of a bounce in her step, happy that she won the argument, and continued toward the deeper parts of the Sacred Grove, toward the resting place of the Master Sword. Realizing that he had been left behind, Link jogged to catch up to the two conversing princesses, though did not cease in his pouting. "Oh, do stop looking at us like that! I was only teasing!" she finally said after a few more minutes of him walking beside her dejectedly. He shifted his gaze to the aged steps that had remained from the Temple of Time that had once stood in this place.

"We're almost there," he said, though mostly to himself. He hadn't been here since he returned the blade of evil's bane to its resting place two years ago, after the defeat of Ganondorf- the Sages had asked it of him, in order to preserve it for when the time came for its power to be called upon again, be it by him or another chosen hero later in time. Lo and behold, it was he that must grasp its amethyst phoenix hilt once again.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that you returned the Master Sword so easily before," Zelda pondered as they ascended the worn, decrepit steps, knowing how much of a bond the hero had formed with the soul of the blade. "You certainly knew how to use it well enough, and it got you out of more than one tight situation," She vividly remembered just how well Link could fight with the Master Sword. At the memory of him making this sword…any weapon for that matter, dance in his hand, the way he made it look so intricately refined, and yet to effortless and somehow managed to turn the tactics of warfare into a dance of death made even her sigh in adoration. She was brought out of her thoughts when Link simply shrugged indifferently.

"I gave it back to the land of the creators that forged it; I had to return it to Hyrule- it was never mine to keep, Zelda," she nodded as he continued, "though I'm not going to pretend I didn't miss it; after feeling that power…that _magic_…dancing in your fingertips, your Ordon Blade just doesn't feel the same anymore," he sighed. "But I guess no sword could rival that goddess-crafted blade," he shrugged again. "Such is life, I suppose. Ah, here we are,"

Once they had ascended the stairs, they paused to take in the overgrowth that had infested where the main chamber of the temple had been centuries ago. Granted, the goddesses had taken good care to ward the Twilight from so sacred a place, thought the lack of sunlight in the once vibrant grove did not go unnoticed by the trio as they crossed toward the inner sanctum that held the ancient blade they had come to collect.

"Midna and I will wait here while you get the sword; we need to be ready in case of an ambush from the Twili, or something of the sort," Link gave a nod absently to Zelda as he pressed deeper into the grove, his gaze already caught in the illuminating glint of the Master Sword ahead of him. Even from this distance, he could feel the pulse of power concealed within the sword, its beat in rhythm with his own heart, as if it had attuned itself to its previous owner as though he had simply set it down for a moment, and not sealed it away for two years. He walked toward the Pedestal of Time in a trance, transfixed with the aura of power that enshrouded this seemingly inanimate object.

With a breath of awe, he grasped the amethyst handle once more in his hands and, with a gentle tug, released it from its resting place once more. For a few moments, he simply held the sword in the air and inspected it with an air of respect and humility, knowing that he, as a warrior, could never hope to rise up to the amount of greatness harbored within this steel. He vaguely wondered if the heroes of old that had also been chosen to wield the Master Sword had ever felt the same.

Sliding the precious sword in its own blue sheath with intricate yellow patterns along it, he slung it over his shoulder in place of his Ordon Blade and turned to rejoin Zelda and Midna in the main chamber. Upon his return, Zelda turned to face him when she heard his approach, her azure eyes sweeping up to his left shoulder, where the phoenix hilt of the Master Sword jutted out, just within his reach, should he have to call upon it. She, too, it seemed, had been taken with its concealed power, knowing what it alone was capable of. Midna poked her head up from Zelda's shadow.

"So, want to check on Faron now? It'd be best that we make haste, if we are to gain an advantage against The Rift," she piped, clearly uncomfortable with the thought of being behind in comparison to her father's old council of betrayers. Her two Hylian friends nodded and began to make their way out of the Sacred Grove, back into the main area of Faron Woods.

Little conversation was exchanged on the trip there beyond Zelda reminding Link that he needed to pull the hood of his cloak over his head before they leave the grove in order to keep him from turning into a wolf again, and Midna when she gave them a fair warning before pulling them back into the Twilight behind her.

How odd it was, to go from the protected grove into the exposed woods, to go from such normalcy that, if only for a moment, all evils were forgotten, into the dark abyss of uncertain Twilight, where one wrong move could cost you your humanity, and turn you into a beast, shunned and feared by all. Even to Midna, the air around them seemed heavier, the stillness suffocating as they made their way to Faron Spring. Granted, it wasn't all that long of a walk; the only real "difficulty" was jumping across the tree trunks just outside the Grove, and that was more of a mildly irritating time consuming obstacle than an actual difficulty.

"Ugh! This isn't like the Twilight back home!" Midna wheezed, her chest heavy from the pressure of the atmosphere. "This is just-"

"We're nearing the spring, so don't worry," Link hastily reassured her as the trio neared the entrance to the clearing of Faron's Spring. Zelda's eyes widened in horror as she came to a halt just before the opening. Noticing this, Midna inquired from her shadow,

"Are you alright, Zelda? You look pale…" hearing Midna's concern, Link whirred around to inspect his girlfriend, fearful that the dormant Twilight inside her was stirring or something equally painful for her was happening.

"…Zelda…?" He reached a gentle hand toward her. Her own, trembling hands (very uncommon for her, and only made Link's fears double) rose to her mouth.

"…Faron…I can't sense Faron!" Ignoring Link's outstretched hand, she dashed past him toward the spring, Midna literally shadowing her.

"Zelda, wait!" Knowing what could go wrong if they separated even for a few moments in such dire conditions, he pumped his legs to keep up with her, praying that the only reason that Zelda couldn't sense Faron was because of the Twilight within her. Upon entering the Spring, he saw Zelda kneeling before the shallow pool of water, staring at its rippling surface. Midna rose beside her with a cautiously questioning look.

"…Zelda…what's…?"

"He's here," she said, relief evident in her tone despite her generally stoic expression. "His aura is smothered by this artificial Twilight, but he's here." Link looked up into the rocky alcove of the spring. His face screwed into a puzzled look. "Strange; we could see the spirits last time the Twilight invaded Hyrule."

"That was true Twilight, Link," Midna said without turning to face him. "This darkness, whatever it is, isn't the same as that which is from my domain."

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Again, my sincerest apologies for the long delay. Updates will be much more frequent, I can promise you! Please leave a comment! It's greatly appreciated!


	5. Whispers in the Dark

Moving right along! Oh, in case you were wondering, I didn't update for so long because I simply wasn't here (left to Europe on a class trip…still can't believe I managed to get enough money for it!!!) And then I was out for surgery. But now that I'm back, I assure you that I'll get right back to updating on a regular schedule!!

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"How do we free Faron?" Link pondered aloud. "Since we can't see him, I'm quite sure the spirit won't be able to give us the Vessel of Light…"

"What good would it do if there aren't any Tears of Light to collect, Link? We don't even know what's hiding the light away this time." Midna snapped at him, frustrated with the whole situation and its lack of clear solutions. Link felt his face grow hot with embarrassment; he hadn't thought that far ahead before he opened his mouth. Both he and Midna looked to Zelda in surprise when she swore loudly as she stood.

"If I wasn't plagued with the Twilight, I could sift through the darkness and just _find_ Faron and get this over with!" She snarled in irritation. "Why did I have to be so weak when it counted the most?!?" Her smoldering glare, despite not being even physically directed at either of her friends was intense enough to make them both inch away from her a little out of fear of being the victim of her fuming.

"Well…I could just…try to find him myself…" Midna sheepishly piped after a few moments they gave Zelda to calm down (unusual, considering her normally calm demeanor). The Princess of Destiny turned to her with a more collected expression.

"You can get through this false Twilight to reach him?" She inquired, and though Midna looked a bit uncertain, she shrugged indifferently.

"It can't hurt to try, right?" She offered, though didn't leave much room for discussion, as she had already floated ahead to hover over the shallow water. "Hee, hee, wish me luck!" With that, the little imp dove into the water, though did not make so much as a ripple on its black, glassy surface.

"Fighting fire with fire…" Zelda pondered aloud, though made no further comment as she and Link stood beside each other to wait for Midna's return. Link turned to look her over, noting that her eyes were clouded over in pain, and she would occasionally wince after a shift in her movement.

"Does it hurt?" he asked in a gentle tone. Because her mind was elsewhere, she didn't know what he was talking about at first, but when she saw him nod toward her neck, where some of the Twilight was poking up through her tunic's tall collar, she understood his question.

"Sometimes; the pain comes and goes," she shrugged nonchalantly (and winced afterward, as Link noted to himself). "But it's nothing I can't handle- ACK!!!" A sudden flash of black, orange, and blue rocketed out of the water and collided with her stomach before she could finish, sending her reeling to the dirt floor a few feet away. Link rushed over, his hand halfway raised toward the Master Sword's hilt on a reflex. Zelda, coughing from the cannon-shot to her stomach, waved him off as Midna rolled out of her lap to sit on the ground next to Zelda. Link crouched on the other side of her to check her stomach for injuries caused by Midna's collision with it.

"…Alright…new plan…" Midna groaned, cradling her head gingerly with one hand. Once Link was satisfied that they were both unharmed, he began to ponder. After all, he was blessed with the Triforce of Courage after all, and Zelda was in no shape to purify anything with the Twilight compromising her Triforce of Wisdom, so who's to say that he didn't have the same abilities, at least to a certain extent? After all, according to the ancient texts and legends, the three Goddesses that created the Triforce held the same basic powers, but utilized them differently and therefore created different outcomes using the same magic, so can't the same rule be applied to the relics they created, on a much smaller scale?

"Why don't I give it a shot?" He offered. Both princesses looked at him in surprise; apparently they hadn't thought of it, either.

"I don't know how you'll do it, though…" Zelda trailed off before Link sprung to his feet in almost unnecessary enthusiasm.

"I may not know how to use my Triforce like you can, but I think I can give it a shot! What have I got to lose?" He happily marched toward the water, but his clumsy awkward side chose to rear its ugly head- sure he was a hero, but that didn't mean he was always graceful! His foot caught an uplifted root of a nearby tree, and he was unable to regain his composure before he was plunged into the inky black water. Panic swept him as he felt what seemed almost like thin vein-like extensions of darkness try to entangle him in their everlasting snare. He writhed and thrashed, trying to sweep the blackness away. There was no up or down in this limbo of emptiness, only a seemingly eternal abyss that no amount of light could pierce.

'…_Give in to the darkness...'_

'…_The light has made you weak…'_

'…_I can make you stronger…'_

The Twilight was playing tricks on him! Frantically he searched for the surface, something distinguishable in this maw of nothingness. Just as his lungs were beginning to burn from the lack of air, he saw a faint, orange-red glow, reminiscent of a sunset, but whether it was far away or just very small, he couldn't tell; space was almost irrelevant in this place.

'_You mustn't listen to those whispers. They tell you lies, Chosen Hero.'_

His eyes widened. That voice…it was much clearer than the myriad of whispers that were assaulting his ears. It seemed so familiar…_ 'Is…is that Faron…?'_ That light was his only focus at this point; his sole objective was to reach the light that seemed so far out of his reach and yet so very near all at once. The dark whispers urging him to give in and let his wickedness overcome him grew frantic, as if they feared him reaching that beacon of purity. Their temptations grew rushed, almost desperate, trying to taint him beyond all saving before the light could spare him.

'_The light will only hasten your death! I can give you immortality!'_

'_Is she worth passing up the opportunity of a lifetime?'_

'_When it was she that unleashed me upon the world?'_

He was running out of both air and will, and at a rapid pace. His heart sank with the realization that he wasn't going to make it to that light. But he wasn't going to simply sit idle and listen to the nonsense this blackness was spouting. He covered his pointed ears in an effort to keep the voices out of his head. It was all for naught, however; it seemed that there was no getting out of hearing what it had to say, as if the words were being imbedded into his very soul.

'_You know this to be true, Hero.'_

'_She will leave you when you have served your purpose.'_

'_What will your sacrifice have been for then?'_

Something about that statement made his left hand suddenly pulse. He felt his anger rise, though it seemed distant, as if another entity were absorbing the hostile emotion from directly affecting him. Forgetting he was underwater in his rage, he screwed his eyes shut and gave a shout. "SHUT UP!!!" The demand was lost as the last of his air left his lungs in a spurt of bubbles, but suddenly none of that mattered anymore; he felt his left hand begin to burn, and a sudden noise akin to a cannon shot rang out accompanied by a brilliant flash of light that engulfed everything. He gasped in shock, but was even more surprised to discover that he was breathing air, not water. The veins of darkness that had been wrapping around him suddenly creeped away in fear of the light protruding from him, and he was immediately freed of the wicked voices. He wasn't entirely sure of what was happening, but as long as he could breathe and enjoy the lack of terrifying darkness, it didn't particularly matter to him.

When he lost consciousness or for how long it had been lost, he did not know, but the first thing he saw when he came to was, to his utter delight, Zelda kneeling over him. "Oh thank the Goddesses! Midna, Faron, he's awake!" He heard her through the fogginess of his mind, still trying to wake itself from slumber. As he grew more alert, his other senses returned to him- the sound of nature filled his keen ears, and he breathed in the clean scent of fresh grass, the scent unmarred by the Twilight. He blinked as his vision came into focus, surprised to see that Faron's woods had returned to their previous state of breathtaking earthly beauty. Turning his head, he saw the Monkey spirit Faron hovering over the –now purified- water, the spirit's ethereal glow reflecting on the water's surface, making it appear almost white.

He slowly rose to a sitting position, though his head still swam with confusion and, though he would never admit it aloud, the words spoken by those dark harbingers of haunting questions and thoughts from the Twilight. With a shake of his head, those thoughts were cast aside for the time being, saved for a more convenient time for him to dwell upon at his own discretion. Zelda, reassured that he was alright, stood and took a place beside Midna and began conversing with Faron, as though he were perfectly fine. He gave a hoarse cough to regain her attention. "Gee, don't act like I just woke up from being unconscious or anything," he glowered at his friend and girlfriend. Zelda quirked an eyebrow in response to his remark before she responded with a retort of her own,

"But you ARE awake, are you not?" She asked flatly, crossing her arms.

"Yes, obviously, but-"

"And you're not harmed, are you?"

"Well, no, but-"

"There you have it, then," she smiled impishly. "I checked you for injuries, I stayed beside you until you awoke, so how can you say that?" She feigned heartache by clutching her chest in mock agony. He glared at her a moment more but stood nonetheless and began to walk toward them.

"Faron," he began, his voice breaking at the thought of what he had seen, heard, and felt in the grip of that tangled, crepuscular web. "I can't understand- how did I manage to do this…? I've never even _used_ the Triforce of Courage, let alone-!"

"Ahh, but you have used it- many times, in fact," the monkey replied, nodding sagely as its coiled tail twitched curiously. Link frowned thoughtfully, trying to recall such a time.

"I don't see when I could have possibly used it-" Suddenly, he remembered. It was a subconscious sort of reoccurring event, but one that he had never dwelled on long enough to deem using his third of the Triforce as an explanation for what had happened. When he was first pulled into the Twilight Realm had really been the only stand-out moment where he had first discovered the power he held, but there were more, less critical instances: when he thought he couldn't counter an enemy's attack, he would suddenly feel a burst of energy and it seemed as though his shield had guided his arm in front of him, when there were moments that he held even the slightest bit of fear in his heart, a sudden wave of heat would overpower his senses and he would charge forth with vigor, and when he would feel as if there was no hope, his legs would simply start to walk him in the direction he needed to go without his consent. Looking back, it had always been that way, even when he was merely a boy after his parents' deaths.

"Ahh, you remember now- excellent, Hero!" Faron praised. "Your piece of the Triforce is only activated in moments of fear, to act as a counterbalance. When there are times of peril, however minute they may seem, your powers will work on the same level to keep you focused. Because your fear of the Twilight was so extreme, and because the circumstances were so dire, the Triforce of Courage summoned within you the power to reach me through the darkness and pull me through. For that, I thank you." Faron bowed his head to Link, though observed him a moment more before commenting, "Your mind is still clouded with what the voices told you," it was more a statement than a question, and was only confirmed when Link gave a visible flinch against his will. "As difficult as it may be, you must keep such thoughts out of your conscious, or The Rift will have already won before you ever reach them." Link did his best to pull off a cheery smile in response.

"You have nothing to worry about, Faron- those thoughts have long since left me!" Link assured the spirit. Before Faron could further inquire the mental stability of the Hero of Twilight, he had turned toward his companions with a grand sweep of his arm. "Come on, let's keep going- now that we know that I can get rid of the Twilight, we can use it to free the other spirits!" Unaware of Link's blatant façade, Midna merrily moved forward to prepare to warp them. Zelda however, was unconvinced from Link's show of apparent disregard for whatever happened in the corrupted water, but chose not to mention it for the time being. Even as Midna warped the two of them to the next region, Link replayed his words to Faron, _"You have nothing to worry about, Faron…"_ He mentally cringed at the realization that his own reassurances did little to ease his own thoughts…


	6. Dusk

Dear…God…I haven't updated in THREE MONTHS?!? Where the crap did the time go?!? Ah well…here's chapter 6! FINALLY!!! A BOSS BATTLE!!!...For the record, this one may seem a little weak, but each fight with a member of The Rift will grow more and more epic and suspenseful, promise! The idea behind that is to build up to a climactic end…that, and I just want to get the weaker enemies out of the way.

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No sooner than the moment Zelda's feet touched the earth floor did she see Link's normally ocean blue eyes cloud over in painful contemplation, turning his irises almost a dark violet. Her face adopted a concerned expression as he continued on without facing her, without even giving her so much as a glance. What had happened to make him turn from her so? She sighed and shook her head to clear it. Night was fast approaching, so she could simply ask him once they had set up camp. Surely she was just over thinking the whole matter…

…No, no, that couldn't be the case. Link had never shut himself away from her, even back when they were acquaintances; he had always been open and honest with her and kept nothing to himself that was important or had been a concern of his. It was the bond between them that had been forged in the battle against Ganondorf two years ago- from that day, the two had become inseparable. _'At least,'_ Zelda thought to herself, her own thoughts clouding her eyes from really seeing much, _'I certainly hope we can maintain that bond…through whatever trials we may yet face…'_ It wasn't until she collided with Link's back that she realized that he had stopped walking. "Oh!" She let out a soft cry of surprise, stepping back quickly in shock. He turned his head toward her and beheld her with kind eyes.

"You should be more careful," he said simply with a warm smile. Her spirits lifted when he acted like himself. All the same, she was still weary of whatever tainted thoughts were still plaguing his mind; she was not the stereotypical love-sick girl who lost her wits over a boy; she was Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, Princess of Destiny, the Keeper of Knowledge, after all! Her gaze kept its focus on his back even after he turned his head back in front of him. For a few moments, neither of them moved. Midna took this as a good time to pop up from Zelda's shadow to get a better look at the land.

"You know, even though Link already purified this area, it looks a lot like home right now…" She noted in an airy, almost trance-like voice. Both of her Hylian friends could see where she was coming from; looking at the setting sun, the hours of Twilight made the land seem akin to the Twilight Realm itself- almost as though nothing changed from Link's recent accomplishment.

"Yes, it does feel quite nice- a home away from home feeling, eh, Princess?" A deep, ominously echoing voice rang out. The three heroes, startled, turned back-to-back-to-back, weapons drawn: Link's Master Sword, Zelda's Celestial Bow, and Midna (whom had returned to her true form in anticipation of a fight) kept her powers tingling her fingertips, ready for release. The snide comment was followed with booming laughter that seemed to come from all directions. The heroes tensed in anticipation. "Do not act so surprised," the once echo-like voice now sounded closer, and held a sense of direction- in front of Link. This made sense, given that there was a figure materializing a few yards away from him. Seeing the form emerge, Zelda and Midna turned to face it as well. Now that the figure had become completely solidified, it was easier to analyze what they would soon be up against.

The man was a tall, slender- almost stringy figure, clearly not one very adept to physical combat, as the trio had observed, though much detail beyond that was obscured in the black hooded cloak the man wore. The one detail that really mattered, however, was that there was no visible weapon on the said person…at the moment. All three of them had learned not to assume that there was nothing there to be used as a weapon simply because it was not visible. Link was the first to verbally respond to the cloaked man, "The Rift finally sends one of you out of the shadows then, eh?" He scoffed, hoping to intimidate a move out of this mysterious entity. "They could have sent one that's a bit more…threatening, though. I'm almost insulted they think us so weak." He was certain that this would invoke some sort of action from his enemy, something, _anything_, for him to go off of, to build a defense against!

His plan paid off; this poor fellow was clearly the weakest of their enemies, and had been pegged as such in his own group. The raw nerve had been struck, and action was most certainly being taken. "I am NOT weak! You WILL call me by my name! You WILL call me Dusk!" The man, Dusk, charged at the trio, arm crossed over to his opposite shoulder, hand up, fingers laced together. With a surprisingly high leap into the air above them, the man dove down in a flurry of electric blue energy, intent on ending their lives. The trio split off into three different directions to avoid the blow, but none of them could move fast enough to avoid the shockwave that followed the man's impact with the ground. The force of it sent all three of them reeling to the earth floor with heavy thuds in different directions. All were quick to recover, and after gathering their composures, resumed their defensive positions as before. Link, however, was fast growing impatient with this nuisance. With a cry of irritation, he charged toward the man with his sword poised to kill.

_Focus, my child._

Time suddenly seemed to slow around him: Zelda was frozen in a half-spin with her rapier in hand, her hair wild and nearly unmoving. Midna's hand was creeping above her head, her ice blue magic sluggishly crackling in her palm. The hooded man was rising from the kneeling position his own attack had put him in, but it seemed that such constraints of space and time did not seem to apply to the Hero of Time as he raced toward his target. The Master Sword's blade seemed to glow a strange white, not unlike it had when it had aided him in the Twilight Realm two years ago. Still, who was that voice…?

_The time is now:_

_Call upon your power-_

_And use it in conjunction with that of the Master Sword._

The distance between Link and Dusk was fast becoming smaller and smaller, but it was almost as though the world around them was disappearing in a white haze, akin to when he forced the Twilight out of the water when he was afraid of drowning. Still, the light continued to encompass everything around him, until all there was, was pure concentrated light. He did not lose his consciousness this time, however, and grew more puzzled as the seconds ticked by, as he skid to a halt, unsure of where he was and how he got there.

_Face me, my child._

He practically jumped at the voice, though it was not out of fear, for the voice was not ominous, but gently commanding and familiar, a voice that carried him through his trials two years ago, a voice belonging to a long forgotten soldier that taught him all of its equally lost arts of war. Sure enough, as Link turned to greet the man behind the voice, his eyes met with the sole glowing red orb that served as the warrior's eye, surrounded by the dulled golden armor that encompassed a decomposed skeleton. Truly, this was the forgotten warrior, his mentor.

_We haven't much time, though it has stopped passed this realm. Now, focus._

So, Link thought to himself, time had stopped when he had been taken from the battle. Still, best not to delay the end of the conflict from occurring. He listened intently.

_Because the Triforce of Wisdom has been compromised, the Triforce of Courage must rise up and reawaken its true power. The key to this is the Master Sword._

The skeletal spirit lifted his own sword and held it vertically in front of him and gave a curt nod, as if to tell Link to follow suit. After a few stumbling moments of him still trying to shake off the surprise, he did as was silently requested and mimicked his mentor. The said Golden Helm gave a nod of approval.

_Find the flame within your soul. It is already ignited, but now you must fan it and let it grow._

Link closed his eyes, burrowing deep within himself once more. This time, he found his own fire easier than when he had been searching for Zelda's; there wasn't as much darkness, wasn't so heavy with burdens, and was much brighter and larger than her suppressed blaze. Through the abyss he heard the Gold Helm speak,

_Good. Now, channel it, let it flow into the blade of evil's bane. Do not hesitate…_

His mentor blurred against the stark white surrounding them, and the sounds of nature and the smell of battle assaulted his senses. Still, he heard the Gold Helm's voice give one final command, one that he did not hesitate to obey.

…_Strike._

The Master Sword gave off one last brilliant flash as he leapt into the air above Dusk and sunk its blade into his chest. The Hero's enemy froze rigid with pain and let out a cry of agony as crackles of light rippled through his body, originating from the Master Sword protruding from his sternum. Suddenly, Dusk reached up to grab the blade and pull himself closer to Link by literally dragging the sword deeper into his chest. His face, beginning to split around the edges from the light, twisted in to a bitter smile.

"I may be gone, but your doubts remain." Link found he was unable to hide the look of shock that overcame his features. Dusk's smile widened. "Those doubts will NOT leave you. They will only grow LOUDER, and you will NOT deny them forever. I know this to be true…and so do you." Finally, the light encompassed Dusk's body, and it shattered into little more than fragments of Twilight that dissipated in the wind.

"Link…" he turned to Zelda upon hearing her soft call, thought the concern and confusion had not left his face entirely. She stepped up to him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Link, you're trembling…are you alright…?" The worry that etched her lovely features made Link feel a pang of guilt; she shouldn't have to worry over him all the time.

_She doubts you. She questions your abilities as a hero._

He was suddenly…angry with her…how DARE she worry over him so much? Did she really think him that incapable? He snatched his arm away with a look of cold indifference. "I'm _FINE_, Zelda." Zelda, despite herself, flinched under his icy reply. Midna wanted to run over and slap him. How dare he treat Zelda that way! She was only concerned for him! Even Link himself took a step back, started that he spoke in such a way to one he cared for so much. His expression softened when he saw Zelda flinch, and guilt consumed him. He placed his hand gently on her shoulders. "I'm sorry…I guess I'm still tense from the fight…please forgive me," he sincerely murmured, kissing her brow. She smiled meekly, knowing his apology was genuine but still unsure of what was ailing him. She gave a nod and said nothing more as she walked past him. Midna followed hesitantly behind her, and Link followed suit, his thoughts still clouded. The Twilight whispered tainting words in his pointed ears, even now, and though they were much more subtle in the world of light, he heard them all the same.


End file.
